Authors

Born and raised in the great city of Los Angeles, Elise joined her dad as he took Canadian relatives on endless tours of Olvera Street, The San Antonio Winery and The Griffith Observatory. This food, culture and music-loving punk rock Angeleno wants to turn you on to all that is funky, delicious and weird in the city. While Elise holds down the fort, her adventurous alter ego Kiki Maraschino is known to roam the country in search of catfish.

Monique A. LeBleu is a writer, photographer, videographer, shameless foodie and wineaux. Her love of film history and a background in film production, post-production and film theory give her unique insights into her movie reviews, and a brief background in technical theater fuels her passion on all-things theater and film. As a foodie, living in the ever-growing and diverse culinary landscape that is the City of Los Angeles feeds her never-ending pursuit of the perfect comfort food. She lives in the hope that someday she’ll find the world’s best Mac n’ Cheese to pair with a saucy Malbec. You can also find her at ScopingLA.com.

Simone Snaith writes young adult and fantasy novels, and sings in the band Turning Violet. A fan of scifi, fantasy, the supernatural and most things from the ’80s, she enjoys reviewing music, books and movies. You can read about her own books here.

Bob Lee started interviewing bands while working in college radio and later contributed to various publications including early issues of Ben is Dead. As a drummer and singer, he has toured and recorded with bands such as Claw Hammer, Jon Wahl & The Amadans, Mike Watt and the Black Gang, Backbiter, Crawlspace, Hot Damn and Fearless Leader. He is the quiet, sneaky one of the band. When writing, Bob’s credo is, “All we have is the truth.”

Nikki Kreuzer has been a Los Angeles resident for more than half of her life. When not working her day job in the film & TV industry, she spends her time over many obsessions, mainly music, art and exploring & photographing the oddities of the city she adores. So far she has written 94 Offbeat L.A. articles which are also posted on the website OffbeatLA.com. As a writer and as a photographer, Nikki’s work has been featured in the LA Weekly, Oddee, and countless other publications. Nikki is also a mosaic artist, working actor, D.J. and musician. She plays bass, sings and is co-writer in the band Nikki & Candy. Find their music on iTunes, Amazon or at NikkiandCandy.com. Nikki is currently working on her first novel. Please “like” the Offbeat L.A. Facebook page! For more Offbeat L.A. photos & adventures follow @Lunabeat on Instagram or @Offbeat_LA on Twitter.

Billy Bennight is a writer, photographer and wardrobe stylist with expertise and years of experience in these disciplines. His musical youth started as a Punk Rocker and has expanded in exploring many genres of music, with a keen interest in art, fashion, red carpet and film festival coverage, photography, and writing. He’s very engaged in life.

Ivor Levene is a writer/photographer with a definite love of music, music history, and architecture. Combining his love of live music and photography was the perfect marriage. His past work is a who’s who of classic rock and can be seen at www.ilevene.com Living in Toronto, NY and finally L.A., Ivor is an avid sailor, bassist, and burgeoning writer. He can be found playing in any number of blues clubs in L.A.

I’m a native of Los Angeles who loves food and food culture. Whether looking for the best ceviche in Colombia, the best poke in Hawaii or the best Taiwanese Beef Roll in LA, it’s all good food! I also love a good drink. I’ve had Mai Tais in Hawaii, Bourbon in Kentucky, tequila in Mexico and rum in Jamaica. My wine escapades have taken me to Napa, Sonoma, the Willamette Valley and the Santa Ynez Valley. And I’ve had beer all over the world! Ed is founder and Editor of our sister publication, The Boise Beat.

When my father gave me a Kodak Brownie as a child, I fell in love with photography. I have been shooting pictures ever since. I am also an avid genealogist and can trace one of my family lines back to 1620! Check out my photography at afropixphotography.com!

Michael is the editor and main contributor to South Bay Foodies. where he scouts out and documents good eats around LA. (Besides writing and photography, Michael is also an administrator for The LA Beat and has played an integral part behind the scenes to get the site happening and keep it up and running -Ed).

Jennifer K. Hugus was born at a very young age. At an even earlier age, she just knew she would one day write for the LA Beat! Having grown up in Massachusetts, France, and Denmark, she is a noted fan of Asian Cuisine. She studied ballet at the Royal Danish Ballet Theatre and acting at U.S.C. in their prestigious BFA drama program. She also makes her own jewelry out of paints and canvas when she isn’t working on writing absurdist plays and comparatively mainstream screenplays. Jennifer would like to be a KID when she grows up!

Paul Gaita lives in Sherman Oaks, California with his lovely wife and daughter. He has written for The Los Angeles Times, LA Weekly, and The Fix, among many other publications, and was a home video reviewer for Amazon.com from 1998 to 2014. He has interviewed countless entertainment figures from both the A and Z lists, but his favorites remain Elmore Leonard, Ray Bradbury and George Newall, who created both Schoolhouse Rock and the Hai Karate aftershave commercials. He once shared a Thanksgiving dinner with celebrity astrologer Joyce Jillson, and regrettably, still owes the late character actor Charles Napier a dollar.

Tequila Mockingbird has been a longtime fixture on the LA music scene. Her first band was “Trouble for Nora” with Mitch Mitchell of “The Jimi Hendrix Experience.” She sings with Jeff Goldblum, and you can catch her Saturday nights at Canter’s. She is also a promoter, actress, writer, and inventor. Her company, Do Monkey Productions, booked the historical punk rock TV show, “New Wave Theater.” She has been published in Buzzbin Magazine and has a regular column in Rock City News. Recently she has created Tequila Tattoo Cream and opened The Punk Rock Museum to bring old friends together for art, music, and culture. It is located at KGB studios and curates special events all over Los Angeles including Pershing Square. She hopes to curate more events for the city that she loves.

Dukey Flyswatter, (AKA Michael), is a native Angeleno with strong roots in the underground scene since the 70’s. He is a screenwriter (Blood Diner, Star Slammer), actor (Surf Nazis Must Die, Betty Page: Dark Angel, etc.), freelance writer. He is best known for his Horror Metal rock group, Haunted Garage, which he founded in the 80’s and has now reformed, with him taking his usual role as lyricist and singer.

I am a native Californian, born and raised in Bakersfield and eventually escaping to San Jose, then to San Francisco, where I spent every free moment in punk culture spaces before heading to LA permanently in 1989. I have also spent major time as an AIDS and queer street activist, which today, along with my passion for punk/alternative music still informs my personal and social life. I love photography, film and playing the bass badly. My posts are usually about events and social activities I attend, I’m really too lazy to take assignments.

Christy Kane

Born and raised in LA, Christy lives in Long Beach and has worked as a librarian in DTLA for longer than she cares to admit. She loves all things music, food, art, photography, theatre, movies and whatever else this crazy metropolis has on offer. A base in the LBC has allowed her to straddle the wonders of both LA and OC.

Deb Frazin

Deb Frazin is a photographer based in Los Angeles with a focus on DTLA street photography and punk rock culture. Her work has been published in photography books, on album covers, and has been featured in numerous publications including The Los Angeles Times. Purchase her photographs at Deb Frazin Photography.

Donna Lethal is the author of “Milk of Amnesia” and writes for her own blog (Lethal Dose), Hair Hall of Fame, Dowager Quarterly, Celluloid Slammer, Find A Death, & she wrote the Valhalla Cemetery chapter in “Weird Hollywood.” A native Bostonian, she’s lived in NY and London before settling here. When not writing, she’s doing yoga or fleeing to the hot springs in a vintage Celica Supra. Send your product samples!

Carolyn Soyars is a freelance journalist and musician, who performs under the name Carolyn Edwards. She has played in the critically-acclaimed bands 3D Picnic and The Negro Problem, as well as performing traditional folk music with her husband, Dave Soyars. For more info check out her website and read her blog.

President of The Fun Zone; The Center for the Study of Funism. Specializing in Mud Pie Engineering, Imagineering, Infotainment and Consultant of Stuff. Colonel of the W.L.B. (Wax lips Brigade). Obsessive-compulsive participant of the Center of Competence.

Event Listings

Fri

30

Nov

2018

Boys of Summer Tribute to the Eagles

8:00 pm The Grove Theatre, Upland CA (909) 920-4343

Tue

04

Dec

2018

WeHo Reads: Tales from The Sunset Strip

8:30 pmWeHo Reads event featuring the authors of Tales from The Strip: A Century in the Fast Lane. A reception hosted by the Friends of the West Hollywood Library will be a part of this event. FREE. 625 N. San Vicente Blvd., West Hollywood, California 90069